Armour Apiaries

02/21/2018

This early heat has the girls very active right now! In the video you can see them fanning away from the entrance to help ventilate the hive. You can also see that their pollen baskets are full of nutritious proteins. Today I was checking for drones (males.) There were none to be seen, except some that are still in their cells. When you have mature drones, that means swarm season is almost upon you!

02/04/2018

Getting some reading done to prepare my mind for bee season! It's getting warmer, so expect some inspection photos soon!

12/04/2017

Hey y'all! It's been a while! I've been neglectful to the page, but the bees are alright! The picture is of me having some fun with the smoker today after one of the last inspections of the year. It's winter now, so I just have to make sure they have enough food to last until February. Then we'll split the hives in two to double our count! The bees themselves are not doing much, just taking advantage of the warm weather to search for nectar and pollen.

04/30/2017

A wild hive from just up the street from me! The bees on the outside seem to be collecting something, which I think is tree resin. They use this resin, called propolis, to coat the walls of the hive. Not only does it seal cracks very well, but propolis also has very strong anti microbial properties that keeps the hive healthy. Human have used it on cuts and such, as well as ingested it fit health reasons.

04/18/2017

Want to see a swarm for lunch?! I just got a call from - one of our hives is swarming! I'll be going out therein just a few, so check my Facebook account around 12:45-1:00pm to see if I can stream it safely.

04/16/2017

Have they been eating Fruity Pebbles?! Not exactly. All of those different colors are pollen collected from different flowers. Nature can be quite stunning.

04/11/2017

This clover at Little Bit Farm Georgia is covered in bees!!!

03/28/2017

A great interview about why you should buy local! Tasting real, raw honey will make you realize what you've been missing out on by buying supermarket honey!

We spoke to Bee Local's Ryan LeBrun about bees, honey laundering, and the future of ethical honey harvesting in America.

03/05/2017

Cloudy day in the bee yard! Checked all 3 of my hives today, with mixed results. The hive in the foreground is in excellent shape (there is even fresh honey!), I'll probably split it 2 to prevent swarming. The other hive is in decent shape, and should do well this year. The hive not pictured is looking very weak. It is low on nectar and pollen, as well as brood. They may have gone queenless, and at this time of year that spells death for the colony. I will go assess the situation on a warmer, sunnier day this week.

01/18/2017

The bees are loving this warm weather! It does concern me that they are active so early, but for now they seem to be doing well. Notice that their pollen baskets are full, meaning they are finding something out there.

10/25/2016

Fall is feeding season! The ladies were low on honey, so everyone is getting some sugar water. I say ladies because, during the fall, the queen stops laying drone (male) eggs. Drones do not forage for food or generate heat during cold weather, so the hive gets rid of them.

09/13/2016

I'll be going live inside one of my hives in about 10-15 minutes! Tune in!